Sunday, September 25, 2016

PKR has lost a Member of Parliament, and in my opinion Darell Leiking should honorably resign as people voted him in as their Member of Parliament most possibly because he was a PKR member - a member of Pakatan Rakyat (PAS-DAP-PKR) coalition.

Why did he quit PKR? Presumably to join an ex-UMNO-BN leader to form some new party...so, now he is of 'like mind' with a just out 'UMNO-BN' person. Well, when it comes to principles, values and positions, things do not change so fast...

Betrayal of his constituents is hard to stomach. Did he consult his constituents before he made this move?

Conclusion - PKR is losing members...and now a Member of Parliament, also a PKR Vice President? How many more members will PKR lose to these new ex-UMNO-BN member/s parties.

Is this also an indication that these new parties like BERSATU formed by recently ousted UMNO-BN members will not be able to pull their previous supporters in UMNO-BN to leave UMNO-BN and join them in this new political parties...we have not heard of any mass exodus of UMNO members - rather news of just a few veterans jumping to these new parties.

PKR was essentially also a party made up of ex-UMNO-BN members - and, most likely PKR will be most impacted by a large loss of members across the country...If these new BERSATU and the party being formed by Shafie Apdal will not draw BN party members to abandon their BN parties and join these new parties...then, these new parties will only depend on the already existing anti-UMNO BN voters.

So, even if they are left out of the Opposition coalition - it will not affect the votes of the Opposition pact.

In fact, leaving BERSATU and Shafie Apdal's new party out of the Opposition pact makes good sense. A 3-corner fight will and should merely split the UMNO-BN vote, if these ex-UMNO-BN really had true support within UMNO and BN members and supporters...?

PKR-DAP-PAS were 'selfish' and had earlier been opposed to the idea of including more political parties into its Opposition Coalition. There are are many Opposition parties that are against the UMNO-BN Coalition, and ideally all such parties should have been absorbed into an Opposition electoral pact - and maybe even an Opposition Coalition. It still can be done...

Out there we have Parti Rakyat Malaysia(PRM), Parti Sosialis Malaysia(PSM), KITA, State Reform Party(STAR), Sarawak Workers Party, Sabah Progressive Party, Human Rights Party, SUPP, etc...bringing all these parties together and developing a common ideology, policy, principles is a good idea. At the very least, an effort should be made...

Odd that PKR and the Opposition is not making so little comment about the fact that PKR lost a Member of Parliament... I wonder why? It is a big deal...

Penampang MP Darell Leiking quits PKR

FMT Reporters

|
September 22, 2016

Penampang lawmaker stresses that decision to step down has nothing to do with party or president.

UPDATED

PETALING JAYA: Darell Leiking has resigned from PKR.

In a letter sighted by FMT, the Penampang lawmaker – who is also a PKR vice- president – resigned on Sept 21.

In the letter addressed to PKR President Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail,
Leiking stressed that his decision to quit the party had nothing to do
with PKR or Wan Azizah.

“In fact, as much as there are reasons for me to continue and to
stand shoulder to shoulder with you and all our colleagues in Keadlian
so as to fight and eventually defeat the Barisan Nasional regime led by
Umno, there are also as many reasons for me to consider participating in
the same political cause as I had embraced in Keadilan for Sabah thru
(sic) a state based political platform to fight against the evil BN
regime,” the letter read.

When contacted, Leiking confimed his resignation and said that Wan
Azizah was aware of it. Leiking also revealed that Wan Azizah respected
his decision.

“What is important is that we all share the same views on bringing a new landscape for Sabah and the Federation.”

News of his resignation comes in the wake of his appearance alongside
former Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal at the office of the Registrar
of Societies (ROS) in Putrajaya, where the latter is believed to have
submitted documents to take over a Sabah-based political party.

Leiking is a first-term Member of Parliament. He won the Penampang
seat after defeating Upko President Bernard Dompok in the 13th General
Election.

Following the MP’s resignation from PKR, rumours are rife in Kota
Kinabalu, that PKR’s Moyog assemblyman Terence Siambun will also be
resigning and joining Darell.

When contacted, Terence told FMT that he was aware of the rumours,
but he did not give an indication as to whether the rumours were true or
not, only saying “No comment”. - FMT News, 22/9/2016

Is Ahmad Zahid Hamidi trying to 'sell' POTA(Prevention of Terrorism Act) and the Detention Without Trial and/or Restrictions Without Trial provisions as a positive and 'successful' solution? Not at all clear...but maybe...

"We need to explore new solutions and continuously work to enhance
our domestic legal framework in the fight against violent extremism.
These continuous efforts should involve a diverse cross-section of our
population," he said.

He also shone the spotlight on Malaysia's deradicalisation and
rehabilitation programmes towards changing the mindsets of radicalised
extremist individuals.

With a success rate of around 97.5 percent, he said, Malaysia was ready to share its experience with other nations.

Worse still, is that the victims of these Detention Without Trial and/or Restriction Orders have no right to even challenge the 'Justification' or the Reasons for the Orders that deprive them their liberty and freedoms. It seems like the ISA (Internal Security Act) all over again?

How many persons are now being unjustly subjected to such Detentions and/or Restrictions? He mentions a success rate of 97.5% - well, if it is the innocent who are being detained and/or restricted, it makes sense that 'deradicalization and rehabilitation programmes' will have such a high success rate, would it not? How really did he come to this figure?

Besides the POTA, there is also another draconian law called the Prevention of Crime Act (POCA), which also allows for similar Detention Without Trial and Restriction Orders.

Now, these Detention Orders and/or Restriction(including Police Supervision Orders) can extend for an undefined period - 2 years plus 2 years plus...

With no requirement to charge and accord a fair trial, there is no need for a thorough investigations, or the requirement to collect credible and admissible evidence...Hence, the possibility of injustice being visited on the innocent is very real...

The Commission thereforereiterates its call to the
Government to review all laws that provide for detention without trial,
including POCA, with a view to making them in line with human rights
principles, enshrined in the Federal Constitution and the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights - Razali Ismail, Chairman, The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) - 28/7/2016

If Zahid Hamidi is talking about something else, it would be good if he could present some details to all of us , and an explanation of how he came to this 97.5% success claim??

Let's stand united against terrorists, Zahid tells UN

Muin Abdul Majid, Bernama
Published 24 Sep 2016, 11:55 pm

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has issued a clarion call for the world to unite
in the fight against terror that he said has brought about instability
and insecurity of nations.

The message that the Malaysian deputy prime minister conveyed in a
speech at the United Nations today was crystal clear - only if and when
the international community stands united can the terrorists be
defeated.

"Malaysia joins others in calling for robust and effective
international actions in our collective fight against terrorism. Such
efforts must be based on and in full respect of the UN Charter and
universally recognised principles of law, including international
humanitarian and human rights laws," he said.

Ahmad Zahid was speaking at the General Debate of the 71st session of
the UN General Assembly, where he joined leaders from all over the
globe.

Terrorism, he said, had to be tackled from the ideological
perspective - by countering the narratives and addressing the root
causes of issues that could be manipulated to attract people into
supporting terror groups like Islamic State (IS), Boko Haram and
Al-Shabaab.

"We need to explore new solutions and continuously work to enhance
our domestic legal framework in the fight against violent extremism.
These continuous efforts should involve a diverse cross-section of our
population," he said.

He also shone the spotlight on Malaysia's deradicalisation and
rehabilitation programmes towards changing the mindsets of radicalised
extremist individuals.

With a success rate of around 97.5 percent, he said, Malaysia was ready to share its experience with other nations.

The issue of lengthy delays in the resettlement of refugees causing
hardships to host countries - Malaysia included - was also mentioned by
Ahmad Zahid who urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and other relevant agencies to promptly act on the matter.

On migrants, he said Malaysia recognised the contribution of the
foreign work force to the country’s economic prosperity and had given
serious attention to cases involving labour exploitation including
forced labour.

Turning to Palestine, Ahmad Zahid said the decades-long crisis
highlighted the built-in flaws in the workings of the UN where the use
of the veto continued to perpetuate the longest occupation in modern
history.

The deputy prime minister painted a grim picture whereby the
situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory was slowly
but surely moving away from a two-state solution.

"The blockade on Gaza, the unrelenting expansion of illegal Israeli
settlements, the continued construction of the illegal walls, the forced
transfer of Palestinians from their homes and gross violations of human
rights of Palestinians continue unabated despite mounting international
pressure and criticism," he said.

Malaysia is people-centred

Closer to home, he said Malaysia's development agenda had always been
people-centred, which ran parallel to the aspirations of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).

He said Malaysia was in the process of formulating a National SDG
Roadmap to serve as an overarching and guiding policy for the country's
sustainable development.

He touched on the salient points of the 11th Malaysia Plan
(2016-2020), skills development under Technical and Vocational
Educational Training (TVET) initiatives and the Malaysian Global
Innovation and Creative Centre (MaGIC) to make Malaysia the startup
capital of Asia.

Located in Cyberjaya, MaGIC was jointly launched by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in April 2014.

Ahmad Zahid also highlighted Malaysia's National Blue Ocean Strategy
or NBOS initiative that allows over 80 ministries and agencies to
collaborate for better public service delivery.

MADPET SHOCKED AT THE EXECUTION OF AHMAD NAJIB ARIS WHEN ON THE VERGE OF
ABOLITION OF MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY.

MADPET (Malaysians Against Death
Penalty and Torture) is shocked to hear that Malaysia has executed one Ahmad
Najib Aris on Friday(23/9/2016), at a time when Malaysia is in the process of
abolishing the mandatory death penalty, and possibly the death penalty for some
offences.

Ahmad Najib Aris was found guilty
of murder (Section 302 Penal Code) of one Ong Lay Kian (also known as Canny Ong).

MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY – DENIES JUDGES DISCRETION IN SENTENCING

Section 302 provides the mandatory death penalty – which means that
once the judge finds the accused guilty of murder, the judge has no choice but
to sentence the convicted to the one and only available sentence- DEATH by hanging.

We recall that Attorney-General
Tan Sri Apandi Ali who is also the Public Prosecutor, said that ‘…mandatory
death sentences were a "paradox", as it robbed judges of their
discretion to impose sentences on convicted criminals….’ “If I had my way, I
would introduce the option for the judge in cases where it involves capital
punishment. Give the option to the judge
either to hang him or send him to prison. “Then we’re working towards a good
administration of criminal justice,”. (Malaysian
Insider, 13/11/2015). The Attorney General also said the he would
propose to the cabinet that the mandatory death penalty be abolished.

ONLY CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE?

Ahmad Najib Aris was found guilty
of murder, for which he was sentenced to death, and also rape under section 327
Penal Code for which he was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment and ordered
to be given 20 strokes of the rottan (whipping). The evidence resulting in his
conviction were only circumstantial evidence.

It must be pointed out that one
of evidence adduced at trial, was that the car driven ‘after the alleged abduction’
by Ahmad Najib with Canny Ong seated in the passenger seat was stopped by two
police officers, who did asked for the identity cards of both the driver and
the passenger, which were given. They both also later confirmed their
identities to the police when asked. When later asked to step out of the
vehicle, the police officers allege that Ahmad Nazri drove off.

Of note also was the fact that
the alleged victim was not seen by the said police officers to be bound or
injured, and was seated in the passenger seat. The fact that Ahmad Nazri did
stop the car, when the police men on motorbikes asked him to do so also raises
doubts as such is generally not the conduct of one who is in the process of committing a
crime.

Now, it is important to note that
the credibility of the Malaysian police is in doubt. The Enforcement Agency
Integrity Commission (EAIC) in their inquiry surrounding the death in police
custody of one Dharmendran a/l Narayanasamy, in their press release dated
28/4/2016, did, amongst others state, ‘The
Commission found the police report on the death of the deceased lodged
by SP25, the D9 Lock-up Sentry made upon the instructions of the Deputy Head of
the Criminal Investigation Department of Intelligence and Operations IPK Kuala
Lumpur (SP60) and written by Sergeant Major Ali (D9 personnel) contained
false / misrepresentation of actual state surrounding the death of the
deceased.’ There was also finding by the EAIC that police made false entries
into the lock-up diary.

In October 2015, in another death
in custody inquiry, the EAIC also found that police had tampered with evidence
in the Syed Mohd Azlan bin Syed Mohamed Nur case. Then, we also recall the infamous
Anwar’s black eye, and how the police said one thing, and finally it was
revealed that it was the police that caused it.

Hence, the alleged perceived ‘odd’
conduct of Canny Ong that allegedly moved the police to ask Ahmad Najib and
Canny to step out of the car, which resulted in Ahmad Najib driving off raises
much questions. Was this observation of Canny Ong’s ‘odd’ gestures true? Did
Ahmad Najib really drive off to escape the police?

This Canny Ong’s case received
much media attention, soon after her ‘disappearance’ and there was much public
anger when she was later found murdered. There was much pressure on the police and
the authorities to find and convict the person/s responsible. Would this have ‘tainted’
the administration of justice?

Doubts however also did emerge as
to whether Ahmad Najib and Canny Ong had a personal relationship, and whether
he really was the person responsible for the murder of Canny Ong. The absence
of evidence of any struggle/protest at the alleged time of abduction, and her subsequent
conduct, even in the presence of the 2 police officers, also raises concern.

In any event, the High Court
found Ahmad Najib Aris guilty of both murder and rape, and both the Court of
Appeal and the Federal Court agreed.

At the High Court, when Defence
was called to present their case, Ahmad Najib Aris elected to be silent. It may
be simplistic to assume that this ‘silence’ indicates guilt, but there are
other possibilities. Was this silence a result of a threat by others on the
lives of loved ones, or maybe some ‘promises’?

ON THE VERGE OF THE ABOLITION OF THE MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY – THE RIGHT
TO HAVE A REVIEW OF SENTENCE?

When Singapore abolished the
mandatory death penalty for some types of murder, it also provided for
re-sentencing of persons previously convicted under the said offences and were facing
execution. These qualified cases were send back to the High Court, who looked
again at the facts and circumstances of the case, and mitigating/aggravating
factors in determining whether death sentence will be retained, or changed to a
more appropriate sentence of imprisonment.

Malaysia is in the process of possibly
abolishing the death penalty, starting probably with the abolition of the
mandatory death penalty. Nancy Shukri, Minister in the Prime Minister’s
Department and also the de facto Law Minister, was reported stating that the
proposal to amend laws to abolish the mandatory death sentence was to be tabled
in Parliament as early as March next year[2016].(Malay Mail, 17/11/2015).

In a Media Release dated 7/4/2016
by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, it was stated that ‘…in
November 2015, a roundtable discussion had been held in the Malaysian
Parliament by Parliamentarians for Global Action for the Abolition of the Death
Penalty on initiatives, commitments and particularly reforms on the state of
inmates on death row and the abolition of the mandatory death penalty.It was co-hosted by YB Mohd Nazri Aziz as the
Chair of the PGA National Group and also YB Nancy Shukri Minister Minister of
Law in the Prime Minister’s Department along with Luc Vandebon EU Ambassador to
Malaysia, Justice Dato Mah Weng Kwai, MPs from Malaysia, namely YB Kulasegaran,
YB Shamsul Iskandar, myself and international MPs as well.

The main outcome of the meeting
was that: (i) the Malaysian government pledged to introduce a bill aiming to
abolish the mandatory death penalty for all offences and a review of the existing
death row cases.(ii) the Malaysian
Government instate an official moratorium on executions pending the assessment
of the report on effectiveness of the death penalty;…’

As such, if the mandatory death
penalty is soon to be abolished in Malaysia, would not have Ahmad Najib Aris also
then be given the right for his current mandatory death sentence to be
reviewed. Would a re-sentencing court commute his sentence to imprisonment? Now,
that Ahmad Najib Aris is dead, we will not know.

It must be pointed out when there
is due notice of pending executions, the Minister, the Attorney General and the
Sultan of Johor, did previously acted in a praiseworthy manner in stopping
executions.

This happened in the case when Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan of Johor
in 2014 saved Chandran s/o Paskaran from being hanged. Likewise the de facto
law Minister, andthe Attorney General,
did act and obtaina stay of execution in
the case of Osariakhi Ernest Obayangbon
(aka Philip Michael) in 2014.

As such, this sudden and
‘secretive’ execution of Ahmad Najib Aris should be condemned.

GLOBAL TREND TOWARDS ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY

On December 18, 2014, the UN
General Assembly (UNGA) reaffirmed for the fifth time since 2007 the call for a
stop of all executions. In 2014, 117 nation States voted in favour, 38 against,
34 abstention with4 absentees. Every
time the said resolution had been adopted, the number of votes in favour has
been increasing. The global trend continues to be for abolition.

It must also be pointed out that
the death penalty in Malaysia is not pursuant to some Islamic law, or subject
to Islamic evidential and procedural requirements.

Research has also demonstrated
that most Malaysians are in favour of abolition of the death penalty.

Currently in Malaysia, the death
penalty is mandatory for 12 offences, while about 20 other offences are
punishable by a discretionary death penalty. As of 16/5/2016, there are 1,041 persons
on death row.

MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS

The Malaysian Human Rights
Commission(SUHAKAM), Malaysian Bar and many others haverecommended that a moratorium on the use of
the death penalty be put in place pending abolition of the death penalty.

SUHAKAM, vide statement dated
29/3/2016, also cautions ‘…that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the
implementation of the death penalty is irreversible and irreparable. Further, the rationale that the death penalty
acts as a deterrent has been discredited and dismissed on several occasions….’

Therefore,

MADPET calls for the imposition
of an immediate moratorium on all executions pending abolition of the death
penalty, or at the very least pending
the tabling of the amendments that would most likely see the abolition of the
mandatory death penalty, and abolition of death penalty for some offences. This
also would justly result in a review of the death sentence of persons now on
death row by reason of being convicted of offences with the mandatory death
penalty.

MADPET also urges that the said
laws and/or amendments to the law that will result in the abolition of the
mandatory death penalty and/or death penalty be tabled forthwith at the
upcoming session in Parliament in October 2016.

MADPET also urges Malaysia to
vote in favour of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly Resolution
calling for a moratorium of executions pending abolition of the Death Penalty,
or at the very least record a vote of abstention.

MADPET reiterates its calls for Malaysia to abolish the
death penalty.

An extract from the Federal Court judgment -

'[5] On the same day, at about 11.15pm L/Cpl. Ravichandran
a/l Subramaniam (PW4), a police officer together with a colleague were on crime
prevention patrol duty at the Taman Perindustrian Jaya, Kelana Jaya area near
Subang. There, PW4 noticed that a car had stopped beside the roadside. Half an
hour later, PW4 and his colleague passed the same route again and noticed that
the car P145 was still there. PW4 and his colleague stopped their motorcycle.
PW4 then knocked on the glass window on the driver's side of the car P145. When
the glass window was lowered, PW4 saw that the driver was a male Malay and on
the passenger seat was a female Chinese. PW4 shone his flashlight towards both
of them and introduced himself as a police officer and showed them his
authority card. PW4 then asked for the identity cards of the driver and the
passenger. When the driver gave his identity card (P12), PW4 shone his
flashlight at the identity card and asked the driver for his name. The driver
answered that his name was Ahmad Najib bin Aris. PW4 then looked at the
identity card (P11) given by the passenger and asked "awak Ong Lay
Kian?" ("You are Ong Lay Kian?"). The passenger only nodded. At
that time, the driver was wearing a cap. PW4 asked him to remove his cap. After
the driver had removed his cap, PW4 compared the driver's face with the
photograph in the driver's identity card and found them to be the same. PW4
identified the driver as the appellant and the female Chinese as the deceased.
PW4 then asked the appellant to get out of the car but the appellant refused.

[6] Meanwhile, PW4 saw the deceased gesture to him by
pressing both her palms together to her chest with the palms outwards facing
the appellant and then making a prayer-like gesture. The deceased made this
gesture when the appellant was looking at PW4 but when the appellant turned
towards the deceased, the deceased stopped her gesture. When the appellant
refused to get out of the car, PW4 tried to open the door of the car but at
that time, the appellant sped off. PW4 fired two shots at the tyres of the car.
PW4 and his colleague also attempted to pursue the car with their motorcycles
but failed. The car seen by PW4 was similar to the photographs of the car P145
which are P7A and P7B which were shown to PW4. The appellant's identity card
P12 and the deceased's identity card P11 were still with PW4 when the appellant
sped off in the car. PW4 then lodged a police report (P13) about the incident.'

A new 'HALAL LOGO' to ...denote products produced by Muslims...' is certainly against the Malaysian spirit, noting that Malaysia is a multi-ethnic multi-religious nation..

The Malaysia Institute of International
Islamic Cooperation (Ikiam) with the cooperation of the Rubber Industry
Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) will launch a halal logo
specifically for Muslim products early next year.

For workers, would that mean that all non-Muslim workers will be discriminated against, or fired as companies seek to to get there new 'Halal Logo' to demonstrate that their products are produced by Muslim workers only?

Would these also lead to maybe banks also employing only Muslim employees later on to show customers that their Islamic financial 'products' are truly products managed at all levels by Muslims only??

The existing 'Halal' logo that assures Muslim patrons that the said food or product is suitable for consumption by Muslims is reasonable - likewise representation that a food product is made with no meat or fish, which is safe for consumption by vegetarians. Likewise a logo or representations that a particular food or product is suitable for Hindus or Buddhists or ...

MARKETING STRATEGY - The current 'Halal' certification is a good marketing strategy targeting the niche Muslim market not just in Malaysia but globally. It started with food products but now also includes other products including financial/banking products and services.

But, to move for a 'Halal' certificate that states that the products are made by Muslim workers only is really not right...it may be yet another 'marketing strategy' but it certainly is not for multi-religious Malaysia?

Further, one of the proposer of this idea is RISDA (Rubber Industry
Smallholders Development Authority) is certainly not an authority just for Muslim Rubber Smallholders - but for all Rubber Industry Smallholders in Malaysia irrespective of religion or ethnicity, or am I wrong? Do we need another Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority for non-Muslim rubber smallholders...

A perusal of the object of RISDA makes it clear that its target group is 'small farmers' - 'smallholders'...it is for ALL Malaysians and serve all Malaysian 'small farmers' and/or 'rubber smallholders'..., and as such this new proposal goes against the very object and principles of RISDA, and is certainly discriminatory...

RISDA Is Committed To Manage Assistance Replanting Programmes Efficiently And Effectively To Meet The Needs Of Small Farmers.

RISDA is proud to share the information with contributing something
meaningful to the organization and provides information relating to the
responsibility to bring progress and prosperity especially to
smallholders as our main target group ...- ZAHIDI ZAINUL ABIDIN, RISDA Chairman

Maybe, the government need to tell us how many rubber smallholders are there in Malaysia today - how many of them are Muslims and how many of them are non-Muslims?

To what extent has RISDA managed to reach and assist these rubber smallholders - 50%..70%...100%. Is RISDA only assisting Muslim rubber smallholders...and not 'non-Muslim smallholders'?

Is RISDA biased against certain rubber smallholders...The Malaysian government has invested much resources into RISDA, and it will be shocking to now be told that RISDA was not assisting all 'rubber smallholders' - but only small holders of just one religion?

It may be IKIM who may be making such a proposal - but RISDA certainly cannot be seen to be part of such an initiative...and certainly the government should clearly oppose such a proposal...that will discriminate against not just workers but also businesses...

Whilst the Federal Constitution provides for preferential treatment for Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak in certain matters, there is no justification for preferential treatment in Malaysia on the basis of religion ...on the basis that one is a Muslim..

(1) All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.

(2)
Except as expressly authorised by this Constitution, there shall be no
discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race,
descent, place of birth or gender in any law or in the appointment to
any office or employment under a public authority or in the
administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or
disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade,
business, profession, vocation or employment. - Art. 8 Federal Constitution

Since, this matter has come up with regard to RISDA - it may good also to know how many non-Muslim employees are there in RISDA? There are rubber smallholders who sometime are not really fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, and do all RISDA offices have staff with the required communication skills to be able to communicate with the 'rubber smallholders'?

We also may wonder what will happen if 'non-Muslim' enterprises/businesses retaliate by employing just non-Muslim workers in businesses that produce products NOT for the consumption of Muslims?

How many Muslim workers are working in factories that produce alcohols, in clubs that serve alcohol, in establishment involved in the gambling industry,..will lose their job?

Really, before making such 'unsuitable for Malaysia' proposals, RISDA and other government agencies need to also consider wider implications..especially to Malaysian workers..and Malaysia.

PRIVATE businesses can come up with whatever Business or Marketing Strategies - but the government, government agencies and/or bodies, and government owned companies(and GLCs) have a greater consideration other than simply the market or profits.

They have to consider the country and its citizens as well. Even when it comes to 'private businesses', it falls on the government to regulate where needed for the good of country and its people...

The relevant Minister needs to immediately clarify matters...

RISDA seriously need to reconsider this proposal...

Another halal logo to be launched, for Muslim-made products only

Bernama
Published: 24/9/2016

The Malaysia Institute of International
Islamic Cooperation (Ikiam) with the cooperation of the Rubber Industry
Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) will launch a halal logo
specifically for Muslim products early next year.

Risda chairperson Zahidi Zainul Abidin
said the halal logo would be launched at a conference to be attended by
representatives from Islamic organisations within and outside the
country.

He said the proposed logo to be issued by
Ikiam, which would denote products produced by Muslims, would go hand in
hand with the halal logo issued by the Department of Islamic
Development Malaysia (Jakim).

"The need for another halal logo is to
distinguish products that were produced by Muslims against that of
non-Muslims besides helping Risda smallholding entrepreneurs and Muslim
entrepreneurs make forays into the halal markets locally and abroad," he
said.

This will also help clear misgivings over
the veracity of halal products as some companies are said to have
flouted the halal rules upon getting halal certification from Jakim, he
told reporters after opening the state-level Risda Entrepreneurial
Seminar here today.

"So, with the proposed Ikiam halal logo
(going alongside Jakim's halal logo), people will be more confident (of
the veracity of halal products)," he said.

Meanwhile, Zahidi said the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, which is in the ratification process, holds great
potentials for Bumiputera entrepreneurs, including Risda smallholders,
to dominate the halal industry globally.

"At the regional level, for example, a
Muslim company with 60 branches across China has recently asked Risda to
supply halal products to them. So, halal business opportunity abounds,"
he said.

Zahidi lamented over too few Muslim
entrepreneurs applying for halal certification for their products as
they accounted for only 28 percent against 72 percent non-Malay
entrepreneurs.

"Only 11 percent of Muslim companies were
registered with the Halal Industry Development Corporation (under the
International Trade and Industry Ministry) for the export market against
89 percent non-Muslim companies," he said.

On the 2017 Budget, he hopes Risda would
receive the fund it had asked for as last year it received RM120 million
less of the amount sought, much to the dismay of smallholders who had
cut down rubber trees for replanting.

Amnesty calls for moratorium on executions

Amnesty International statistics from countries which have abolished the death penalty show no increase in crimes.

KUALA
LUMPUR: Amnesty International Malaysia (AI-M) have called on the
Malaysian Government to impose an immediate moratorium on executions.
“Authorities must also end secrecy on executions,” it said in a
statement.

AI-M was condemning the execution of Ahmad Najib Aris. He was hanged
on Friday after serving 13 years on death row for the rape and murder of
Canny Ong Lay Kian.

“The death penalty is never an answer. Hanging a man for murder is
not justice, it’s revenge,” said AI-M Executive Director Shamin Darshni
Kalimuthu. “We oppose the use of capital punishment regardless of the
crime committed.”

While international law allows for the death penalty for the most
serious crimes, she added, the lack of transparency raises crucial
concerns.

From AI-M’s experience in dealing with imminent executions, families are only informed between 72 and 24 hours before.

Also, the authorities deliberately conceal or minimise public scrutiny on imminent executions.

This is the fourth known execution in Malaysia this year.

On 25 March 2016, Gunasegar Pitchaymuthu and brothers Ramesh and
Sasivarnam Jayakumar were hanged in the Taiping Prison between 4.30 and
5.30 am.

The authorities do not make public disclosures of hangings. Lawyers
in Malaysia are not informed of impending executions of their clients

AI-M statistics from countries which have abolished the death penalty
show no increase in the crimes previously subject to capital
punishment. - FMT News, 24/9/2016

Friday, September 23, 2016

In the last Parliamentary session, sadly PKR MP Shamsul Iskandar bin Mohd Akin, also a PKR Vice President, seems to have only asked 5 questions for an oral response when he could have asked 10 questions. Why did this happen? Maybe, an explanation should be made. Was our perusal of parliamentary response wrong? Was some questions rejected?

If you did not have any questions, MPs could ask their constituencies, civil society groups and others. For example, we still do not know the number of persons detained under Detention Without Trial laws like Prevention of Crime Act (POCA)? How many have been detained for less than 2 years, 2 years or more? How many of these were suspected criminals who could have been charged in court but was not because there was insufficient evidence to ensure convictions?

In every session of Parliament, a Member of Parliament can ask 10 questions for oral answers, and 5 questions for written answers. We looked at the last parliamentary session that started on 16/5/2016 and ended on 26/5/2016. The questions for oral answers would be listed in the daily agenda for the day - the 'Aturan Urusan Mesyuarat', so we will be able to determine whether a MP has put in the said 10 questions, and what were the questions raised. Now, if there is no time for oral answers to be given, then written answers will be furnished.

In Malaysia, it is very different to get answers from the government, and one sure way to get a response is through Parliamentary questions - it may not be a full answer, but at least it will be an answer.

Members of Parliament(MP) who fail to utilize the right to ask these 15 questions 'betrays' the people and/or fails to fulfill their duties as MPs. Unfortunately, we do not have the list of questions for written answers that were submitted listed in the Parliamentary website.

Most of the time, most of these questions for oral answers will not receive an oral response - so, all that the MPs get will be a written response. Now, sadly many of these MPs, even after they get the government response, they do not share it with the people - No transparency and accountability. The probable reason may be laziness - but really this is no excuse when we are all fighting for greater accountability and transparency of governments in Malaysia.

The relevant politicians should really have a website/blog where they good easily place all the questions asked, and responses received - which could be easily accessed by constituents and the general public easily. Facebook is also OK but the problem is that access to earlier posts not so easy, compared to websites/blogs.

Alternatively, the relevant political parties could highlight all the questions and answers received in their websites.

As a sample, we will look at PKR MPShamsul Iskandar bin Mohd Akin [Bukit Katil], and found that he seems to have only asked 5 questions. I perused the Aturan Urusan Mesyuarat for 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25 and 26th May 2016 as available in the Malaysian Paliamentary Website. There is a possibility that I missed some of his questions, and I hope someone will mention that in my comment. Please go to verify this.

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